Dega704 writes: US and British intelligence officials are concerned former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden has stored an online "doomsday" cache of extraordinarily sensitive classified information that will be unpacked in the event he is arrested or physically harmed, according to a report published Monday.

The article, headlined Spies worry over "doomsday" cache stashed by ex-NSA contractor Snowden, cited seven current and former US officials, as well as other sources briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition they not be identified. The report claimed the cache contained documents generated by the NSA and other agencies that include previously unpublished names of US and allied intelligence personnel. One of the sources described the documents as an insurance policy against arrest or harm.

Ars was unable to confirm the claims in the article, and some of the reported details sounded technically implausible, at least as they were described.